This week’s landmark news that BT is to become the first United Kingdom telephone company to ensure calls to 0870 numbers and 0845 numbers are without charge, is expected to be welcomed with rapturous cheers from consumers and campaigner groups alike.
0870 numbers particularly, have been the topic of a great deal of off-putting media coverage over the past few and this is mainly due to the large cost to call them the reality that some organisations make cash from phone calls to these numbers (specifically grating for clients lines and after-sales help).
Using these numbers in the public sector has also faced a large amount of scrutiny and the Department of Health has at this point launched a consultation in a bid to review the application of the numbers in the National Health Service.
There are even groups that have been specifically set-up to work against these phone numbers, like saynoto0870.com.
When they were introduced, 0845 numbers used to be charged at local rate, whereas 0870 numbers used to be national rate to ring. This is not the case now with the introduction of inclusive minutes and call deals provided by mobile and landline businesses and is likely to be the particular cause for BT’s new charging structure for its residential clients.
BT currently has around a 60% market share so it appears probable that the other main players in the telecoms arena will go the same way - this includes Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali, who currently bill between 26 pence and £1.07 for a ten minute call to an 0870/0845 number (as of 8th January 2009).
Although this gigantic step is in a beneficial route for BT’s residential customers, it’s important to note that 40% of all United Kingdom phone calls made in 2007 were from mobile phones (Ofcom 2008). So, while some of BT’s landline users look set for a great bargain, mobile callers will still pay around 20-30 pence per minute to call 0870/0845 numbers.
Businesses that would like to offer their landline and mobile callers an exceptional deal, 03 numbers are going to be the obvious answer.
03 numbers cost callers the same to call as normal landline numbers- even when calling from a mobile phone - at any point. They are also included in the free minutes packages that are offered by all major mobile and landline providers.
The 03 number category is divided into three segments:
-0303/0300 numbers entirely for charities and public sector bodies.
-0330 / 0333 numbers for any business or organisation.
-03 comparable numbers for businesses that already have an 08 number and would like to exchange it for 03.
Organisations are at present taking advantage of the massive potential of 03 numbers, including the BBC, the Metropolitan Police, Pioneer, Oxfam and the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
03 numbers are also being backed by the Department of Health as the best choice to 08 numbers for National Health Service services that want to benefit from the additional functions that 08 numbers can provide (like caller options and call queuing etc.) whilst providing their callers a better deal.
To round up, British Telecom’s latest move will save its residential customers an estimated £24m a year. This development not only underlines the significance and popularity of non-geographic telephone numbers, it also reinforces the argument for providing consumers a better deal at all times. And for this, 03 numbers still have no equal.
